Little Movement Seen For Thai Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, adding almost 7 points or 0.5 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,450-point plateau and it figures to remain rangebound again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with bargain hunting likely offset by oil prices and war concerns. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SET finished slightly higher on Monday as gains from the food, consumer, industrial and resource sectors were capped by weakness from the financial and technology companies.

For the day, the index rose 2.57 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 1,449.62 after trading between 1,432.57 and 1,453.05. Volume was 8.043 billion shares worth 57.708 billion baht. There were 263 gainers and 182 decliners, with 207 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info increased 0.82 percent, while Thailand Airport retreated 1.44 percent, Asset World slumped 0.96 percent, Banpu vaulted 1.64 percent, Bangkok Bank shed 0.60 percent, Bangkok Expressway and BTS Group both gained 0.98 percent, CP All Public elevated 1.14 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods added 0.48 percent, Energy Absolute soared 3.88 percent, Gulf climbed 1.29 percent, Kasikornbank lost 0.52 percent, Krung Thai Card improved 0.86 percent, PTT accelerated 2.17 percent, PTT Exploration and Production advanced 0.94 percent, PTT Global Chemical skyrocketed 7.58 percent, SCG Packaging spiked 3.59 percent, Siam Commercial Bank fell 0.34 percent, Siam Concrete strengthened 1.48 percent, Thai Oil surged 3.61 percent, True Corporation expanded 2.19 percent, TTB Bank dropped 0.88 percent and Krung Thai Bank, B. Grimm, PTT Oil & Retail and Bangkok Dusit Medical were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened higher on Monday but faded as the day progressed and ended mixed.

The Dow added 49.50 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 45,216.14, while the NASDAQ slumped 153.72 points or 0.73 percent to end at 20,794.64 and the S&P 500 sank 25.13 points or 0.39 percent to close at 6,343.72.

Bargain hunting contributed to the initial strength on Wall Street, as some traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness.

Optimistic comments from President Donald Trump about the war in the Middle East also generated some early buying interest - but that optimism was short-lived after Trump threatened Iran with obliteration.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as the price of crude oil saw further upside amid ongoing concerns about the impact of the Middle East war.

Crude oil prices catapulted on Monday as the gulf region remains enveloped in war tension after the U.S. sends more soldiers to the area as Trump warned Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up $3.05 or 3.06 percent at $102.69 per barrel.

Closer to home, Thailand will release February numbers for imports, exports, trade balance and current account sometime this week. In January, imports were up 30.1 percent on year and exports climbed an annual 23.6 percent for a trade deficit of $0.70 billion. The current account surplus was $0.700 billion.